I'm a talent strategist, practitioner, speaker and author who operates as CEO of TalentCulture Consulting Group. I'm also a social media community catalyst who founded TalentCulture World of Work, as well as #TChat forums on Twitter and BlogTalkRadio. I’m passionate about helping leaders recruit and retain stellar talent. I've partnered with brands like Google, Microsoft, IBM and many growing software, digital technology companies at the intersection of talent management, HR technology and social enterprise. I was named one of the “10 Most Influential People in Community Management Today” by Brandwatch; one of the “Top 25 Trendsetters in HR” by HR Examiner; a “Top 100 Business, Leadership & Tech Twitter Accounts” by Huffington Post; and one of the “Nifty 50 Top Women in Technology on Twitter” by Webbiquity. I can be reached via email at mbiro@talentculture.com, on Twitter at @TalentCulture and @MeghanMBiro, or on LinkedIn.

Here’s a giant question for all of us today: who, or what entity, is responsible for putting this country back to work?

Is it job seekers? Indications are they’re trying hard to get back into the workforce – or perhaps just trying to get in for the first time as fresh graduates – but record numbers are struggling. For workers in the prime earning years – ages 40-60 – long-term unemployment and few job opportunities are the norm, not the exception. For fresh graduates, saddled with student loans, the outlook is bleak in a different way. They began school expecting limitless prospects, to graduate into the worst economy in decades. Some, reports would have you believe, are unwilling to take entry level jobs. Some are waking up to the reality that a poly-sci, English Literature or history degree was not, perhaps, a good investment. Employers bemoan the lack of loyalty and skills in this group, a topic I’ve explored at length on a few other channels. Back when I was starting in the world of work, employers looked for energy, fresh ideas and the open-minded attitude of the young. They didn’t insist on a tailored resume, the perfect set of internships, the right degree. They invested leadership time into molding employees. But that was then, and this is now.

Then there’s the government. Despite pumping a stunning amount of stimulus money into the economy, private-sector jobs have yet to materialize. Government-funded job training programs and extended unemployment benefits, intended to bridge the gap, have instead increased economic uncertainty by moving responsibility for full employment onto the government, not job seekers or employers. And while it is the government’s job to stabilize the country’s economy, some things are beyond the reach of even the most well-intentioned bureaucrat.

Then there are employers. Employers say they have lots of openings but a dearth of candidates with the right skills. They push the government to release more H1B visas. They push the educational system to concentrate on schooling more people with strong STEM skills. But what it comes down to is they’re just not hiring. Sure there are requisitions, but employers are holding back, waiting for the economy to stutter back to life. By failing to take a risk, they are investing in the status quo – a stalled economy with little opportunity.

It’s a perfect storm, a cycle of circumstance that’s bound to repeat unless someone, or some group, steps forward to break the cycle. We need leaders, and we need them now. We need to be leaders.

Here are a five leadership ideas to break the closed cycle of unemployment:

1) Employers: take a chance on new talent. Hire a young person and invest in his or her growth. Invest in your current employees so your workplace culture can sustain loyalty and commitment. Talk about your business with enthusiasm and pride, and your customers will notice – and buy.

2) Government: shift the focus from providing unemployment benefits to providing meaningful, actionable and measureable incentives to hire. Tie stimulus and loans to increasing headcount, building employment, rehiring the laid off and investing in the young.

3) Boards of directors: stop looking at quarter-to-quarter results and concentrate instead on building long-term value that will pull the country out of the doldrums. Work to keep jobs here. The past thirty or forty years have been devoted to moving resources and income off shore – it’s time to bring it back. Lead the companies you are guiding and investors will follow.

5) Job hunters: don’t be afraid to take the entry level job. Don’t balk if the salary or benefits aren’t exactly what you thought you’d get. Put your heart and soul into everything you do. Be excellent and be responsible.

As a nation we have come to expect someone else to lead, We want the BMW and the iPhone and the condo. We want someone else to be responsible. We’ve ducked the tough stuff – we’ve given up on being leaders and instead become managers of diminishing return.

These are tough words, difficult suggestions but an important topic. It’s not something we can afford to ignore. Think about when you last took the risky step of acting like a leader, of taking responsibility, of committing to others. Chances are you’ve been holding your breath, waiting for someone else to do it. If we have learned nothing since 2008, it’s that no one else will do it. So leaders please get out there and lead. We need everyone to take action now.

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